west county swat chief debriefingcatonews.org/files/2019/11/seal-beach-121-incident_slides.pdf ·...
TRANSCRIPT
West County SWAT
121 – 7th Street #12
Seal Beach, CA 90740
Chief Phil Gonshak
At the time, Seal Beach Police Department Operations
Bureau Commander and West Count SWAT Assistant
Commander.
West County SWAT rotates Full-Time Commander every two
years.
2017 & 2018 – Westminster Police Department
2019 & 2020 – Seal Beach Police Department
West County SWAT Background
MOU Between the following five police department/agencies:
Seal Beach Police Department
Westminster Police Department
Cypress Police Department
Fountain Valley Police Department
Los Alamitos Police Department
Dispatch Services for West County SWAT:
West Cities Communications – Housed at Seal Beach PD
West Cities Communications Background
Joint Powers Agreement between:
Cypress PD
Los Alamitos PD
Seal Beach PD
Orange County Park Rangers
Located at Seal Beach Police Department HQ
Founded in 1997
Processes 90,000 incidents annually
Handles 32,000 9-1-1 calls annually
City of Seal Beach Background City of Seal Beach
Population 24,326
13.1 Square Miles:
11.3 mile of land
1.8 miles of water
Orange County – NW city
Bordering Agencies:
Long Beach & Los Al – North
Huntington Beach – South
Garden Grove – East
Westminster – Southeast
Police Department:
38 Police Officers
1 Chief
2 Commanders
7 Sergeants
4 Corporals
4 Investigators
2 COP Team Officers
1 DEA
2 motors
15 Patrol Officers
27 Professional Staff
Patrol Staffing: July 16, 2017 at 1920 Hrs:
Five total for patrol:
1 Watch Commander/Patrol Sergeant
3 Patrol Officers
1 COP/Beach Team Officer – For the hot and busy beach
Seal Beach averages 10,000+ visitors a day during the Summer
Challenges for July 16, 2017: 2 Additional overtime officers assigned to the 73rd Annual -
Lion’s Club Fish Fry – 5,000+ Additional attendees at the beach Alcohol served all day
Vehicle Raffle
Amplified Music
Chief Joe Miller is in Hawaii on vacation, Operations Bureau Commander – Phil Gonshak, named A/Chief of Police in his absence
Timeline of the Incident - Patrol
On July 16, 2017 at 19:20:32 hours a 911 cellular call from
(V) Amanda Jensen at 121 – 7th Street (unknown apartment
number), Seal Beach, was received and dispatched to Seal
Beach Police Officers as an “Unknown Trouble” by West
Cities Police Communications (West-Comm):
Timeline of the Incident - Patrol
First Police Officer arrives on scene at 19:22:04 hours
(1 minute 32 Second Response Time)
Second Police Officer arrives at 19:22:09 hours
Second CFS received at 19:23:26 hours from neighboring
apartment.
Caller heard 4-5 gun shots and female screaming
Timeline of the Incident - Patrol
Additional neighbor tells responding officers, he heard either
several gunshots or pots and pans banging from apartment
#12.
Officers notified by neighbors that apartment #12 belongs to
an off-duty police officer, unknown name or organization.
Nearly five minutes after the original CFS, apartment #12 is
confirmed/identified as the incident location.
Timeline of the Incident - Patrol
First two patrol officers respond to the third story apartment/residence and hear nothing from inside #12; therefore, following ASI (Active Shooter Incident) protocol - they decide to not enter and hold their location/stage outside.
The following is then requested over the radio:
Tactical shield
Police Canine
Helicopter
Stage Medics
House keys
Internal Layout/Map
AR15s
Ballistic Helmets
Timeline of the Incident - Patrol Third on scene witness confirms 3-5 gunshots heard 10 minutes ago from
apartment #12
Apartment Manager identifies the occupant in apartment #12 is a Los Alamitos Police Captain
Several calls then made to the Captain’s and known on & off again girlfriend (City Clerk for the City of Westminster) Amanda Jensen’s cell phones
All calls went to voicemail
Weapons check for personal firearms issued to the Captain, results in several returns - including a personally owned AR15
Captain’s take home vehicle is then located in his parking spot of the apartment complex
Jensen’s vehicle is also located
Evacuations of entire apartment complex are then requested by responding units
Parties Involved
Los Alamitos Police Captain
Amanda Jensen
Victim: Amanda Jensen
Former Seal Beach PD
employee
Westminster City Clerk
Mother of Three Children
37 Years Old
Garden Grove Resident
Suspect: Los Alamitos Police Captain
Army Veteran - Second Lieutenant
Hired by Los Alamitos PD in 2000
Promoted to Captain in
2015
49 Years Old
No children
Relationship History Volatile on/off relationship
for several years
Public relationship on social media
Cheating allegations
Multiple domestic violence calls for service in other jurisdictions
Suspect moved to an
apartment in Seal Beach January of 2017
Timeline of the Incident - Patrol
Inner Perimeter - Four corners of the apartment complex, made with on scene staff
Outer Perimeter – Made with four additional agency assist units:
7th/Central
6th/Central
7th/Ocean
6th Ocean
At 1932 hours, Seal Beach Police - Operations Bureau Commander/West County SWAT Team Assistant Commander, Phil Gonshak, arrived on-scene from an off-duty event to assist
At 1950 hours, a Garden Grove Police Canine arrives on scene to assist officers at the front door of Apartment #12
Timeline of the Incident - Patrol
At 1953 hours, all apartments are evacuated
At 2003 hours, after several verbal announcements, contact
at the front door is made by knocking, as the door swings
open
Still nothing heard; therefore, at 2005 hours, Commander
Gonshak contacts Westminster Commander/West County
SWAT Team Commander - Mark Lauderback, and the
decision to activate the West County SWAT Team is made at
2010 hours
Chief Mark Lauderback
At the time, Westminster Police Department Operations
Bureau Commander and Full-Time West Count SWAT
Commander.
West County SWAT rotates Full-Time Commander every two
years.
2017 & 2018 – Westminster Police Department
2019 & 2020 – Seal Beach Police Department
Timeline of the Incident/SWAT Crowds of several thousand people both at the beach and at a
special event two blocks away; therefore, the decision to takeover an intersection is made for the Mobile Command Post (MCP) at 7th/Central Avenue
Bearcat and MCP are both dispatched immediately
Bearcat arrives on scene at 2031 hours to cover the front door from the 6th/7th Street alleyway
MCP arrives shortly thereafter at 2040 hours and the Tactical Operations Center (TOC) is established
By 2144 hours, all SWAT personnel are on scene/in place and patrol is relieved
Timeline of the Incident/SWAT SWAT Sergeant Ezroj recommends the Los Alamitos Police
Captain’s PACSET Radio be disabled via Control One (OC Sheriff’s Dispatch Comms Center)
All Los Alamitos Police Department Officers are cleared from the call and callout, as this involved one of their own officers
Orange County Sheriff’s Department Bomb Squad Robot is requested and arrives on scene at 2218 hours
Due to the time between call for service to actual SWAT deployment, a search warrant is sought after
CNT begins pinging the Captain and Jensen’s cellular phones
Both cell phones are on and ping consistently off a cellular tower at 7th/Pacific Coast Highway (PCH), Seal Beach
Timeline of the Incident/SWAT At 0049 hours, the warrant was signed and SWAT Operators,
along with the OCSD robot prepare for entry
Announcements are again made, with no response
At 0058 hours, the robot broke the front bedroom window for more visual clearance
After breaking the window, the robot began removing the blinds
Piece by piece
Once complete, officers were unable to view anyone in the immediate area
Target Apartment
Timeline of the Incident/SWAT At 0115 hours, robot makes entry through the front door of the
residence; however, after nearly 36 minutes of technical issues the robot proved to be ineffective
At 0151 hours, SWAT Officers make physical entry into the residence and locate the Captain & Jensen both deceased on the living room floor with what appear to be several gunshot wounds to her and one to him
A handgun is located on the floor next to Moore
An interior check revealed no other subjects and the scene was turned back over to the Seal Beach Police Department’s Investigations Bureau at 0156 hours
Media Coverage
Sergeant Mike Henderson:
At the time:
West County SWAT Operations Sergeant
Responsibilities Include – Training Coordination and all Operational
Deployment Mapping
Seal Beach Police Department Administrative Sergeant:
Responsibilities Include – PIO, Training, Internal Affairs, etc.
Operations Sergeant Issues
Too many “Hats”
Role Identity Issues - PIO v. Operations Sergeant v. Acting
Commander
PIO – Updates were great! However, not when there’s
nothing new
Managing Chiefs of Police
Live on Air (Walking Up)
Operations Sergeant – Which city is actually in charge?
Acting Commander Communications
Lessons Learned…
Delegation of Roles and Responsibilities:
Gonshak should’ve delegated Henderson to be Operations Commander
Gonshak should’ve called in a Corporal or Sergeant to handle PIO
MCP Location – Due to the large downtown crowds and onlookers, the MCP should’ve been moved to the Seal Beach Police Department
Regardless of the distance equaling >2.1 miles, this would’ve been the best option, due to our limited accessibility to a large space
Taken control of the MCP – 3/5th of the Chief’s of Police responded to the MCP and at one point one was seated next to the comms/war room
Outside agency police officers self deployed and refused to stand down when relieved – Addressed with agencies post-incident
Takeaways
New Command Staff and Operation Sergeants worked well as a team during an unusual callout
Zero injuries
Realization for a larger team/membership from all departments
Realization for the need of our departments to provide SWAT Operators more time off to physically attend the monthly SWAT trainings
Discussion still today as to whether:
Patrol should’ve entered upon call for service
West County SWAT should’ve turned over the incident to Huntington Beach SWAT or OCSD SWAT
Thoughts?
Questions???
Chief Phil Gonshak – Seal Beach Police Department
562-900-6465
Chief Mark Lauderback – Westminster Police Department
714-412-4259
Sergeant Mike Henderson – Seal Beach Police Department
562-522-4882